I think his lack of contract has less to do with his abilities and more of a numbers game. He's got skills but only one season of NHL experience so he's still a big question of will he be able to keep up his production. With the cap dropping and teams not having much flexibility I think they would rather take risks on Dmen or Goaltending. Even if he doesn't fit on the Devils he will definitely sign somewhere, once teams get an idea of what their rosters look like and what prospects are and are not ready I think at least one team would be willing to take a chance with his potential. Thats why I want him playing here.

I have no idea what the roster is going to look like, to be honest (assuming Brunner gets signed). I want all of Josefson, Loktionov, and Olesz to be playing every game, but it's going to be hard to make that happen.

PDB is apparently very high on Olesz, so this may mean Josefson and Loktionov will be sharing a position until an injury opens up another spot. It sucks if that's the case, but I'm in favor of whatever will make the team better now and in the future. Hopefully it doesn't hinder the development of either of Josefson or Loktionov.

Really hope they sign him eventually. Even if Jagr isn't as hurt as bad as some believe right now, he will still miss games this year so having Brunner is nice cover on the depth chart for that. Wouldn't mind if Gionta got waived to help clear up spot.

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RIP Pat Burns -- RIP Alexander Vasyunov and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Winner of the 2008 Sergei Brylin Award for Most Underrated Poster
Co-Winner of the 2011 Scott Bertoli Award for Best Minor League Poster, Winner of the 2012 Scott Bertoli Award

Really hope they sign him eventually. Even if Jagr isn't as hurt as bad as some believe right now, he will still miss games this year so having Brunner is nice cover on the depth chart for that. Wouldn't mind if Gionta got waived to help clear up spot.

This. I just don't see any need for Gionta anymore. Devils have just too many players that can play in the bottom 6 that are better than him.

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"The Stanley Cup has fallen from the Stars. The new millennium has its first Stanley Cup Champion, and it's the New Jersey Devils." Mike Miller calling the Devils winning the Stanley Cup.

"It goes to the captain and then there are handoffs during a skate around the ice" Mike Emrick as Scott Stevens is being presented the Stanley Cup.

Would they have to waive Gionta? Doesn't he have a 2 way making him AHL eligible?

A two-way or one-way contract doesn't have anything to do with AHL eligibility or waiver-eligibility. Gionta does have a two-way contract this year meaning he gets paid less money if he's in the AHL, but he's also eligible for waivers. I think he'd pass through, and wouldn't cry if he was taken, but who knows.

Obviously I agree with the consensus that Gionta is simply not good enough to merit a spot on the team, but he's earned the right to be the first callup.

Anyone see the interview yet? It has to be said, his nose is gigantic.

Well, you know what they say about guys with big noses...

[slight pause]

Bigger boogers.

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"A lot o' people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch o' unconnected incidents 'n things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice o' coincidence that lays on top o' everything. Give you an example; show you what I mean: suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness."

I honestly believe PDB had on his "wish list" a right handed fw w/ speed and Bruner fit's that bill. I watched playoff games w/ detroit last year and Babcock won't put an irresponsible player on top two lines. And he wasn't playing with Zetterberg to boost his (bruners) numbers.I know he's not a lock but being a righty really helps.

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"Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option" - M.A.

I think there are two big issues here. First, as many have alluded to, the cap has gone down and teams are more focused on locking up the top line guys right now and piecing together the rest of the roster as best they can (knowing the cap will be going back up eventually). There were plenty of big signings, trades and contract extensions for "#1 guys" this offseason despite the cap situation.

More telling in this case is that Brunner is 27 years old. Initially, he and his agent were probably not really interested in taking 750K- 1.25M for a year or two as a bridge. He wants to make big money now considering his time in the NHL will most likely be shorter than other players in their only their second season. The fact that no one else pulled the trigger on this guy leads us to believe the asking price was over the top.

Hopefully PDB finds a spot for him because all signs point to him being an upgrade compared to some of the other guys likely to make the bug club. I'm sure he will be compensated fairly and a bigger deal may only be a year or two away.